The invention relates to a method for the early detection and fighting of fires in indoor and outdoor regions, especially living areas of homes or buildings in which a central freely programmable domestic control block [unit] with an intelligent bus system, sensors and actuators, controls, regulates and monitors the lighting, heating, air conditioning, windows, jalousies, intrusion security and alarm systems and in which, at the same time sensors detect direct and indirect fire characteristics (conditions triggered by fire) in the living and residential spaces or the exterior and monitored by a separate check, control and regulating block which activates an extinguishing agent supply system to discharge an extinguishing agent when a setpoint is exceeded.
The invention further relates to a device for carrying out the aforementioned method with a centrally freely programmable domestic control block connected to an intelligent bus system, sensors and actuators for the control, regulation and monitoring of the lighting, heating, air-conditioning, windows, jalousies, intrusion security, alarm devices or the like, a central check, control and regulating block for controlling an extinguishing agent supply system for the feeding of extinguishing agents, sensors for detecting direct and indirect fire characteristics in the individual living and residential spaces or the outside, and extinguishing agent actuators for delivering the extinguishing agent.
From DE 31 23 279 A1, a method for the early detection of a fire before the outbreak of an open flame with the aid of gas components produced by combustion is known, in which the electrical resistance affected by the gas of at least one semiconductor absorbing the gas components to be measured, especially a metal oxide semiconductor, measures and enables the resulting signal to be used for signalling the fire. The changes with time of the electrical resistance of the metal oxide semiconductor are continuously measured. In this known solution at least one metal oxide container [sic] must be arranged in a housing of high thermal inertia and held at a constant temperature. The signal value which is obtained corresponds to the variation in carbon monoxide concentration and, after comparison with a limiting value, is used to trigger a fire alarm.
DE 35 46 297 A1 discloses a device for monitoring the fire-extinguishing conditions of an automatic fire-extinguishing unit which detects flames from the fire and sprays a fire-extinguishing agent from a nozzle to extinguish the flames. This known device has a detector for detecting the flames and to generate an alarm signal, a flickering detection device for detecting a change in the flickering of the flames and an evaluator device which detects that the extinguishing agent is directed onto the flames and is fighting the flames when a flickering change is no longer detected as a result of a flickering change signal outputted from the detection device after the extinguishing agent has been sprayed.
Other known solutions (DE 33 90 038 C2, DE 34 33 459 A1, DE 197 40 922 A1, DE 197 41 853 A1, DE 198 09 896 A1) are used for early detection of fires or combustion, optical smoke alarms, temperature alarms, infrared detectors, optical transmitters and receivers.
All of these known solutions have the common disadvantage that, while indeed an early detection of a fire-triggering condition can be effected, the delivery of the extinguishing agent cannot occur in a correspondingly selective and at the same time variable manner corresponding to the detected characteristics.
This usually results in excessive water consumption by the stationary extinguishing apparatus with all of the associated drawbacks of overdimensioning of the pumps is piping and containers for the quenching agent in the apparatus. A further not unimportant disadvantage of this state of the art is that the water delivered can result in damage even to the extent of rendering the objects to be protected completely unusable.
From DE 196 27 353 A1, a method for dynamic use of the extinguishing agent is also known for an automatically triggered fixed-location fire extinguishing apparatus in which, as the extinguishing agent, unmixed water or water in homogeneous or heterogeneous mixtures is delivered by spatially distributed one materialxe2x80x94and/or quenching agent spreading device is discharged. Upon the automatic triggering of the extinguishing apparatus, in the case of fire, during the complete extinguishing process, the cross-fire from the point of view of its energetic, material involvement and spatial development is continuously detected as well as its interaction with the extinguishing agent by sensors. Corresponding to the detected fire development and the extinguishing course, a local selection is made of the delivery of the extinguishing agent to open spatially-distributed extinguishing agent spreading devices.
The decisive drawback of known solutions is that in the case of a fire, the extinguishing agent distributing device, usually a sprinkler or nozzle, is only in a position to deliver a quantity or concentration of the extinguishing agent established before the fire. Especially in the development stage of a fire usually only a finely divided mist of the extinguishing agent is necessary at the location at which fire-triggering conditions develop. These are not detected with the known solution. The amounts of the extinguishing agent which are delivered correspondingly are always determined for the case of a fire and thus are relatively high and the damage consequences are great.
In the context of this state of the art, the invention presents the object of so improving a method and a device of the type described at the outset, that the extinguishing agent is supplied as a function of the fire development and the course of the fire while simultaneously minimizing the water consumption and reducing the water damage in the case of fire while increasing economies by providing a modular contribution to the security of systems integratable in a structure affording variability and selectivity with a high degree of effectiveness.
This object is achieved with a method having the characteristics described at the outset with characterizing features of claim 1 and an apparatus with the characterizing features of claim 6.
Advantageous embodiments of the apparatus are deducible from the dependent claims.
The solution according to the invention enables above all the early detection of combustion-triggered characteristics which enable a targeted attack in the case of smoke development and also incipient combustion and the protection from fire of noninvolved regions while maintaining open escape and rescue paths.
The invention is characterized in that it is integratable simply in the security concepts of buildings, homes or the like. Homes with a central function control in the form of an installation bus can be equipped problem-free with the apparatus according to the invention in which the check, control and regulating block [unit] of the invention is connected to the control block of the building technology and the installation bus already provided for data transfer with the sensors detecting the combustion-triggering characteristics are used. Piping which have been provided can be used in the case of emergency as the supply piping network for supplying the extinguishing agent actuators and serve for spatially selective discharge of the extinguishing agent.
By contrast to the known state of the art, the variable delivery of the extinguishing agent as a function of the combustion development and the course of combustion, there is a significant water saving and reduction of water damage. Depending upon the condition which arises, with the method of the invention initially a fine spray mist of the extinguishing agent is established whose quantity, intensity and concentration is variable in time and spatially selectively matched as a function of the detected changes in the course of development of the combustion-triggering characteristics. The signal generator can in such cases be, for example, a smoke alarm or a scent alarm. If the further course of the fire requires a coarser spray jet, a further sensor, for example, a heat alarm, generates a signal which then variably and selectively controls the extinguishing agent actuators. With the solution according to the invention, the water consumption is significantly reduced and simultaneously the uncontrolled discharge of extinguishing agent during the fire is reduced to limit water damage as might have occurred previously. The fire-extinguishing apparatus can be better matched to the dynamics of fire development and the course of the fire. Furthermore, the solution according to the invention has the advantage that the apparatus is of simple construction and is modular so that it can match the previous security concept of a building.
Further advantages and details are given in the subsequent description with reference to the accompanying drawing.
The invention is described in greater detail with respect to an embodiment.